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{{Short description|Hindu saint (born c. 1474)}}
{{other uses|Nityananda (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2017}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox Hindu leader
| honorific prefix   = Sri
| name               = Nityananda 
| honorific suffix    = Prabhu
| image              = Idol of Nityananda Prabhu, Nitai Bari, Nabadwip 1.jpg
| religion           = [[Hinduism]]
| spouse             = [[Jahnava Devi|Jahnava]] and Vasudha
| father             = Hadai Pandit
| mother             = Padmavati Devi
| caption            = Wooden vigraha of Nityananda, Nitai Bari, [[Nabadwip]]
| birth_date         = c. 1474
| birth_place        = [[Ekachakra]], [[Bengal Sultanate]] (present-day [[Birchandrapur]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]])
| death_date         = c. 1540
| guru               = [[Madhavendra Puri]] (mantra guru)
| disciples          = [[Gopalas]]
| philosophy         = [[Bhakti yoga]], [[Achintya Bheda Abheda]]
| known_for          = Expounded [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]], [[Bhakti yoga]] along with [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]] 
}}
'''Nityananda''' ({{langx|bn|নিত্যানন্দ}}, {{IAST3|Nityānanda}}; c. 1474-c. 1540), also called '''Nityananda Prabhu''' and '''Nitai''', was a primary religious figure within the [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya Vaishnava]] tradition of [[Bengal]]. Nityananda was [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]'s friend and disciple. Chaitanya and Nityananda are often mentioned together as ''Gaura-Nitai'' (''Gaura'', referring to Chaitanya) or ''Nimai-Nitai'' (''Nimai'' being a name of Chaitanya).<ref name=Dimock1958>{{cite journal | author = Dimock, E.C. | year = 1958 | title = The Place of Gauracandrika in Bengali Vaisnava Lyrics | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 78 | issue = 3 | pages = 153–169 | doi = 10.2307/595285| jstor=595285}}</ref> 

According to Gaudiya-Vaishnava tradition, Nityananda is [[Balarama]] Himself (so is also called '''Nityananda Rama''', where ''Rama'' refers to Balarama), with Chaitanya being His eternal brother and friend, [[Krishna]].<ref>[http://vedabase.net/cc/adi/5/6/en1 Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila, 5.6] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503154531/http://vedabase.net/cc/adi/5/6/en1 |date=3 May 2008 }}</ref> Chaitanya is considered the "most merciful" incarnation of Krishna as ''[[Svayam bhagavan]]''.<ref name=Rosen2004>{{cite journal | author = Rosen, S.J. | year = 2004 | title = Who Is Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu> | journal = The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant | isbn = 978-0-231-12256-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mBMxPdgrBhoC&dq=Nityananda+Prabhu&pg=PA63  | access-date = 2008-06-07}}</ref>

[[Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati]], the early 20th-century Gaudiya-Vaishnava reformer, writes about Nityananda's theological position as the embodiment of the mercy of the [[guru]]: "Nityananda is the Primary Manifestive Constituent of the Divinity.{{clarify|date=January 2024}} Nityananda alone possesses the distinctive function of the guru. In Nityananda, the function is embodied. Nityananda is the servant-God."<ref>'Associates of Sri Caitanya – Part Two, Sri Nityananda Prabhu'</ref>

==Life==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}}
[[File:Chaitanya sankirtan.jpg|thumb| Chaitanya and Nityananda, is shown performing a '[[kirtan]]' (devotional song) in the streets of [[Nabadwip]], Bengal. ]]
Nityananda was born to a religious [[Bengali Brahmins|Bengali Brahmin]] called Pandit Hadai, and his wife, Padmavati,<ref>Sen, Sukumar (1991, reprint 2007). ''Bangala Sahityer Itihas'', Vol.I, {{in lang|bn}}, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, {{ISBN|81-7066-966-9}}, p.293</ref> in [[Ekachakra]]<ref>[http://vedabase.net/cc/adi/13/61/en1 Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila,13.61, purport] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503151557/http://vedabase.net/cc/adi/13/61/en1 |date=3 May 2008 }}</ref> around 1474. His devotion and great talent for singing Vaishnava hymns ([[bhajan]]) were apparent from a very early age. In his youth, he generally played the part of [[Lakshman]], the god [[Rama]]'s younger brother, in dramatic re-enactments of Rama's pastimes, along with the other boys of Ekachakra.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

At the age of thirteen, Nityananda left home with a travelling renunciate (''[[sannyasi]]'') known as [[Lakshmipati Tirtha]]. Nityananda's father, Hadai, offered Lakshmipati anything he wished as a gift, who replied that he was in need of someone to assist him in his travels to the holy places, and that Nityananda would be perfect for the job. As he had given his word, Hadai agreed, and Nityananda joined Lakshmipati in his travels. Apart from Lakshmipati, who at some point initiated him, Nityananda was also associated with Lakshmipati's other disciples: [[Madhavendra Puri]], [[Advaita Acharya]], and [[Ishvara Puri]], the [[guru|spiritual master]] of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

He died sometime between the years 1540 and 1544.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-09-23|title=Kolkata Durga Puja Festival added a new photo to the album 💟 শ্রী নিত্যানন্দ মহাপ্রভু 💟.|url=https://www.facebook.com/kolkataDurgaPujaFestival/posts/2593658610648097 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/1675688452445122/2593658610648097 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|work=[[Facebook]]|language=bn|access-date=2021-06-19}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Marriage and descendants===

[[File:Prabhu Nityananda, Mata Vasudha (left), Mata Janhava (right).jpg|thumb|200px|Prabhu Nityananda, Mata Vasudha (left), Mata Janhava (right)
(Srivas Angan, Nabadwip, WB)
]]
Nityananda married two daughters of Suryadasa Sarakhela: Vasudha and [[Jahnava Devi]] with the help of [[Uddharan Dutta Thakura]] of Saptogram. After marriage, he settled in [[Khardaha]], [[24 Parganas]], West Bengal. He had a son, Virachandra Goswami or Virabhadra (who was later initiated to [[Vaishnava]] rites by his co-mother Jahnava Devi) and a daughter, Ganga, by his first wife, Vasudha.<ref>Sen, Sukumar (1991, reprint 2007). ''Bangala Sahityer Itihas'', Vol.I, {{in lang|bn}}, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, {{ISBN|81-7066-966-9}}, pp.236, 321-2</ref>

==Legacy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2021}}
Chaitanya and Nityananda's deeds have deep religious and cultural implications in Bengal. They are credited with the revival of [[Hinduism]] in Eastern India. Much of Vaishnava literature, regarded as one of the finest literary heritages of medieval Bengal, came from them or their disciples. Chief among Nityananda's disciples were the Twelve [[Gopalas]], who spread the faith throughout the region.

== See also ==
*[[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]
*[[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]]
*[[Pancha Tattva (Vaishnavism)]]
*[[Gopalas]]
*[[Ekachakra]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author|name=Nitai}} 
* {{Internet Archive author|name=Nityananda}}
* [https://www.thegaudiyatreasuresofbengal.com/2018/07/03/nitai-karuna-sindhu-lord-nityananda-ocean-mercy/ Learn more about the Life and pastimes of Lord Nitai. Checkout this widely appreciated enlightening book : Nitai Karuna Sindhu (Lord Nityananda – An Ocean of mercy)]

{{Krishna}}
{{Caitanya sampradaya}}
{{VaisnavaSampradayas}}
{{Jagannath}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1474 births]]
[[Category:16th-century Hindu religious leaders]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindu saints]]
[[Category:15th-century Bengali people]]
[[Category:People from Birbhum district]]
[[Category:Devotees of Krishna]]
[[Category:Devotees of Jagannath]]
[[Category:Kirtan performers]]
[[Category:Scholars from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Gaudiya religious leaders]]
[[Category:Hindu revivalists]]
[[Category:Indian Vaishnavites]]
[[Category:Vaishnava saints]]
[[Category:Year of death missing]]
[[Category:Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]